


Majesty

by ideallyqualia



Series: Granblue Fantasy [3]
Category: Granblue Fantasy (Video Game)
Genre: Canon Universe, Developing Relationship, F/F, POV Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2019-04-26 04:54:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14394732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ideallyqualia/pseuds/ideallyqualia
Summary: Lyria isn't the only one who can communicate with primal beasts. Nio, with unique powers of her own, can understand them well, too -- and in ways Lyria can't.





	Majesty

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this before playable Alexiel came out (*´꒳`*) thanku for blessing us with her cygames

Ever since Bestia Island, the crew has taken the time to let the various primal beasts they've befriended out into the fresh air, away from the summon stones. Even if the crew meant no harm to them, the fact of the matter was, a fragment of their powers are still being crystallized into stones. Lyria and Djeeta insisted on showing them the world up close in their own way, and in the way the summon stones' bonds let them experience the world differently than just being a primal beast living on their own.

One of the things new to them and remote in the past was music. Nio talked to the primal beasts, usually with Lyria and Djeeta's help, and when she had spent enough time with them to introduce them to her music they expressed enjoyment and appreciation, even if they said they didn't understand it.

Nio sat on a chair on the deck of the ship, strumming her harp while listening to the wind. Whenever the crew needed her for a mission, they asked her to join them, but Nio knew Djeeta and Lyria were out on something unrelated to any missions. They were shopping, or doing weapon maintenance, or something else that didn't involve any fighting. It was a day for a break from that.

Over the sound of the wind, something else reached Nio's ears. There was the quiet muffled sparkle of a piano -- or at least, that was the closest thing Nio could use to describe it. If she listened with an honest ear, the music had the lightness of piano notes and the quality of something else, like a gentle piece of air filtering through glass.

It was Nio's way of understanding that a primal beast was nearby, or at the very least, a friendly, crew-associated primal beast. She suspected it had something to do with them keeping a fragment of their selves in a stone.

Djeeta, Lyria, Vyrn, and Katalina climbed back onto the ship. Katalina passed by Nio and continued into the ship, but Djeeta and Lyria stopped at Nio, and Vyrn floated back to stay with them.

"Look! We have a few more primal beasts with us!" Djeeta held out her hands to show the summon stones in them, glistening with crystal shine in the sun.

Nio heard the music much louder. There were two primal beasts with them now, and judging from their musical harmony, they knew each other well. The sounds swelled with the depths of power.

"Who are they?" Nio asked as she stretched her hands out. They hovered over the stones with distance and reverence; she respected them enough to not touch them.

"They're Europa and Alexiel," Djeeta explained.

"I don't know how Djeeta knows them, but she seems to know them well!" Lyria smiled, swinging her arms in front of herself.

Nio stared at the stones. "I don't know anything about primal beasts, but... These two are very good friends, I can tell," Nio said.

"Oh! You can hear them?" Lyria asked.

"Very easily," Nio said with a nod. "Their music is different from ours, almost at a conceptual level where I don't think most people would consider it music, but that doesn't stop them from having song in their hearts."

"That makes sense, I guess," Djeeta said. She shrugged, more to call attention to the stones in her hands than to prompt another question. "We're going to put them somewhere safe."

Nio waved at them. "I'll see you."

As they walked away, Nio heard a low sweep of strings in the primal beasts. She swore to remember their names. Even if she hadn't seen their faces yet, she could put names to music.

A short while later the two were already lounging on the deck. Nio saw them as she returned from dinner. The sun was setting, framing them against each other in the fading light. They were so close to each other that the sun couldn't even get a ray of light in between them. Their music had the same effect, but stronger; Nio couldn't tell where one of them ended and the other began. For once, she could only guess who was who.

Nio approached them. Her footsteps were quiet, but they both turned to her well before she reached them.

"Welcome to the crew," she said. "I haven't been able to introduce myself yet. My name is Nio."

"It's nice to meet you," Europa said, her voice light and airy like the flute of her calm music. The similarity almost made Nio think Europa could hear it too.

"I use the harp. I'm a part of a group of strong warriors known as the Eternals, but I also travel with this crew." Nio nodded her head with the respect of a curtsy. "I can play a song for you sometime if you'd like."

"That sounds lovely." Europa smiled, and then directed it towards Alexiel.

It was times like this that Nio felt that her power was an infringement of privacy. To anyone else that might have been an ordinary glance between them, but when Nio listened to the violins joining in the music surrounding them, she could immediately understand their relationship.

Love between humans was different, in a way. It almost always began with a nervous beat, and it managed to be simple with the shortness of mortality and complex with the emotion of humanity, as if emotion itself could have a harmony. From what Nio could understand in her first-hand experience with primal beasts, their music of love was softer, infinitely more complex, and patient, the kind of patience that came with the passage of time. It shined even in musical time. Primal beasts might not understand the world in the same way humans did, but if their emotions had corollaries, then this was love.

"I should warn you," Nio began, "I have the power to listen to the music of hearts and souls. That includes you two."

That drew Alexiel's attention. "What do you mean?"

"I can't read minds, but I can tell the general atmosphere of what you're thinking. It's impossible to hide."

A sharp string plucked from the both of them. Europa looked to the side, and Alexiel closed her eyes.

"I'll...leave you alone now," Nio said. As she walked away she continued to hear the anxious noises of violin strings.

 

* * *

 

The first time Djeeta summoned Alexiel, Nio could instantly recognize fragments of music from back when she first met them in person on the ship deck. The violins were violent, to Nio's surprise, appropriate for the battle but not for what Nio thought of as Alexiel.

Since Nio didn't actively participate in the battle, she could keep an eye out for other enemies and come in for backup. Her experience with music was so extensive that she could focus and still listen to everyone's melodies.

She watched Alexiel summon a shimmering reflective shield around Djeeta's group, protecting them completely from an onslaught of waterfalls from the primal beast Leviathan. Alexiel remained in the area past the shield's duration. She faded from the air eventually, like all primal beasts do after they were summoned from Djeeta and Lyria, but she still left a glow in Djeeta's sword, and Nio could still listen to her tune. Nio could guess that other warriors could sense Alexiel in the air, too, in their own ways, such as Siete knowing when a powerful sword was around, or Karva and Mary's instant understanding of traps and where to find treasure.

The more Nio listened, the more she learned. It was always how music played out -- if you listen deeply, you'll understand music beyond its emotion -- but she learned more about Alexiel than she thought she would in the few short minutes of the fight.

It wasn't actually violent. Alexiel was passionate about protection, and she was having fun. Nio couldn't put it into words but she knew Alexiel enjoyed fighting. There was something about the way her music flowed with a bounce in its rhythm and drums, almost like she was aware she was somehow performing.

Nio came up to Djeeta after they finished calming Leviathan down. The glow of Djeeta's sword from Alexiel's power was completely gone.

"Sorry I made you wait out there like that," Djeeta said. "You're the best look out."

"I know how you think. You wanted backup too," Nio said.

Djeeta smiled. "Well, so long as you know." She turned towards the rest of the group, and at the sight of Cagliostro struggling to heal Ayer, she stepped in.

Nio couldn't speak to Alexiel again until everyone was back at the ship. Most of the crew was eating dinner inside, including Nio, and when she came out to the deck she found Europa and Alexiel floating in the air. They were a couple meters away from the ship, enough distance to be unreachable but not unheard. Nio made sure to strum her harp to get their attention and not surprise them.

Alexiel glanced at Nio. "Is that your fabled harp?"

Nio chuckled. "I have many harps. This is just the small one I carry for convenience."

"Is it inferior to your other harps?"

"Not in a way that's easy to explain. It's...different." Nio leaned against the edge of the deck and strummed again, this time continuing and varying her technique, plucking stringers and playing chords.

Europa drifted closer, and Alexiel followed.

"Every time someone new joins the crew, I get to listen to a new melody," Nio said without stopping, her voice quieter than her harp. "That is why I'm thankful for nearly every new addition. I'm glad I could listen to you in the last battle, Alexiel."

"That's so kind," Europa said.

Alexiel crossed her arms. The sudden series of shrill notes that came from her, and only her, made her song as awkward as she probably felt.

"...You're thankful for only nearly everyone? Not every single person?" Alexiel asked. Nio could hear the soft burning in her, fluttering like wings.

Nio stopped playing and glanced at Alexiel. "Well, I can't like _every_ person I meet. In that case, I just tune them out."

Europa giggled. "You're honest, too. I like you."

"And I like you both. Have you met the other primal beasts in the crew yet?" Nio returned to her harp strings, looking at them but still speaking.

"No," Alexiel said. "But I've seen Yggdrasil and Tiamat."

Nio hummed. "I've heard them both. I've heard you too, Alexiel, and I have to say, I didn't know you liked fighting so much."

"I, I do not!" Alexiel exclaimed.

"You sounded like you were enjoying yourself," Nio went on.

"Oh?" Europa asked in a teasing tone directed to Alexiel. "She's already figured you out so quickly."

"That's not the truth," Alexiel said, continuing to disagree. "It's at least not for fighting's sake, I just..."

"I know," Europa said, leaning in toward her to placate her. "You see, she likes protecting people," Europa explained to Nio.

"I can tell. I'm biased, though," Nio said with a nod to her harp. She changed songs, drawing her hand in a more flowing motion and a slower speed to speak and pay more attention. "I'm really curious about you, though, Europa. I haven't heard your song alone like I did with Alexiel."

"What are you saying?" Alexiel asked.

"I'd like to fight you, Europa."

"Oh?" Europa's voice rose with curiosity. "I -- no, Alexiel," she said quickly, "don't interfere." Alexiel started to protest, and their conversation broke into a few words too quick for Nio to catch.

"If you're concerned about her, I'll go easy on her," Nio said.

Alexiel stared at her with such a hard gaze that she had to look around to see if she was looking at something behind her. Europa laughed.

"The problem is _you_ ," Europa said. "She's worried about someone fighting a primal beast that isn't the Singularity."

"Oh." Nio deflated. These weren't skyfarers; they didn't know who she was.

"No, I'll do it," Europa said, her voice soft and tittering with the song in her.

"If you're going to fight, then I insist that I make you a shield so you won't get hurt," Alexiel interjected.

"Why don't you make one for Europa, and I'll make one for myself?" Nio placed her hands on the strings, pausing to reach a specific pluck that could ignite a glowing shield.

Europa's mouth opened. "That's so beautiful. Have you ever seen a shield like it, Alexiel?"

"No." Alexiel reached forward, and after a glance at Nio, she touched it. The music notes danced around her fingertips. Light came through, enough for Nio to see and be seen, but at the touch, blue colors rolled across like a wave. Nio still didn't stop playing.

"You two haven't always been together?" Nio asked. "Since you asked Alexiel if she's seen something like this."

"No, we haven't," Alexiel said. "I'm not sure if astrals intended for primal beasts to work together, but after all the time in the world passes, we're bound to find other primal beasts."

She continued to admire the shield, touching it in different points. Nio's chest swelled with pride.

"You do have a very beautiful shield, and strong, too," Alexiel said. "...I'll see it work, then. Where should we fight?"

"Not on the deck," Europa said.

"Let's go to the ground, then." Nio undid her shield and stepped down off the ship. Europa and Alexiel waited for her at the bottom.

Nio walked until she was comfortable with the distance from the ship. Europa raised her hands.

"I don't have music, shields, or blades, but I'll show you the pure unbridled power of the water and the sea!"

Clouds covered the ground low near her feet, and water flowed around her, pouring and pouring in and around itself until Nio realized a fountain had slipped into existence behind Europa.

Alexiel's shield appeared in a flash. Nio played and began her own shield and song, sure to be quiet so she could hear Europa.

Nio couldn't see anything hit her. She sensed a strain in her shield in specific places, a sign that she had been hit, and Europa's hands moved, but without a way to know where Europa was aiming, Nio couldn't move accurately to dodge. She strummed her harp and set to work repairing her shield with a measure, and then sent a cascade of notes in Europa's direction.

After a few strikes Nio could see the immediate futility in fighting each other, even without any shields. Their styles were so abstract, Europa's water overwhelming her shield like the air itself was attacking, a true force of nature, and Nio's music didn't quite concentrate anywhere either. Music didn't just come in neat tangible projectiles, it damaged people, draining their life energy or slowing them or harming them in other unspecific ways.

Still, Nio could tune herself out from the effects of her own music, listening to Europa like she would any enemy. Europa's music was beautiful and sweet, having violins like Alexiel but completely subtle in her joy of fighting. Guitars surprised Nio, hiding and mixing with the echoing sounds of the heavens, even managing to sparkle without a single slice of light.

Despite the confusing fight, Nio smiled. She struggled to keep playing, feeling the damage on her shield with the energy of her own body separate from pain, but she still smiled. Europa was smiling too, her song.

Nio could imagine herself at the ocean, at night, under a sky of stars. It was the exact musical equivalent of the ocean. The shining violins controlled and compelled everything else like one big wave, or the moon. Everything rose and fell, and with intention. Europa orchestrated with just her heart.

Then a large blue array of magic seals shined into the air, and before Nio could respond, she came under the pressure of what felt like a waterfall's roar, only stronger and even more persistent. It recalled the bottom of the ocean, an entire mass of water bearing down on her.

Nio's shield broke, and in an instant Europa stopped. Her own shield evaporated.

At that moment Djeeta, Lyria, and Vyrn found them. They stopped at the edge of the battlefield with their mouths open.

"What's going on here?!" Djeeta asked.

"Don't worry, it was just a friendly fight." Europa's water effects faded away, along with her clouds.

Nio inspected her harp and found no damage. She brushed the side of it with her hand and looked back at them.

"As long as nothing happened..." Lyria trailed off. She stood on her toes, as if she was absorbing something, and then she asked, "You enjoyed yourselves, then?"

"Very much," Europa said. "You have a splendid crew of strong, wonderful people."

Djeeta turned and started to lead them back. Nio could read in her music that she was curious, humming with a bright song and pitches like questions, but she didn't pry. Vyrn and Lyria followed immediately after her.

Nio lingered behind them with Europa and Alexiel. "Your songs complement each other very well," Nio said to them. "They really lay out the matters of the heart. Did you know you two share violins?"

Alexiel leaned forward to say, as quietly as possible, "Stop talking. Please." Nio could hear her frown without looking.

"I'm learning all sorts of things about you that I couldn't when it was just us two," Europa said in a cheerful yet hushed tone. The combination was almost reverent.

Nio wondered if Lyria could tell these kinds of these about primal beasts -- love. She decided not to ask.

**Author's Note:**

> (General A/N): Not looking for concrit; don't leave any.
> 
> I have a [gbf twitter.](https://twitter.com/sociyue) join me gbf eng friends


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